Philadelphia Sixers fans should've known better than to get their hopes up before the season started, but it was hard to ignore the hype. The front office signed Paul George to a four-year deal in free agency, pairing him alongside stars Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. Many believed the Sixers would be a real threat, but only on one condition.
Unfortunately, Philadelphia fell far short of meeting that condition. Embiid and George were ruled out for the season-opener, foreshadowing what was to come. Embiid couldn't escape the nagging knee pain dating back to last season's surgery, and he was ruled out for the season a few weeks ago after playing only 19 games.
The Sixers went from being labeled a contender to tanking. There is real concern about whether Embiid will return to his dominant form next season because of his knee, making the front office's decision to extend him that much more puzzling. It's not like it became an issue after the season began -- it has been an issue.
Sixers' decision to extend Embiid has already come back to haunt them
Embiid signed a three-year, $192.9 million extension that goes through the 2028-29 season, a $69 million player option. Josh Harris said Embiid was "integral to this franchise's quest for another NBA Championship."
Every Sixers fan can agree that when Embiid is healthy, he's unstoppable, but when he signed the extension, there were questions about his health. He had knee surgery last February, returned at the end of the regular season, and played in the team's first-round loss to New York.
Embiid's knee was an issue in the postseason, and fans thought he might sit the 2024 Olympics out to recover for the 2024-25 NBA season. However, he played for Team USA, winning a gold medal in the process. It's hard to hold that once-in-a-lifetime opportunity against him, but it certainly didn't help his knee recovery. His knee swelled up at the Sixers' training camp, which caused him to miss the start of the season.
The 31-year-old is owed a whopping $248 million over the next four seasons. Embiid will be 35 when he decides on his 2028-29 player option. It's too early to know what things will look like then for Embiid, but it's hard to envision him not opting into that money at that age. There are no provisions in his new deal that protect Philadelphia like there were in his 2017 extension.
The Sixers' future is murky, not just because of Embiid, but he's the biggest question mark. Philly committing that much money to a player with a bum knee was questionable, to say the least. Look at the position the organization is in, as they're over the cap between Embiid's, George's, and Maxey's deals that run through at least the 2027-28 season.
There are a few options the Sixers could take, such as trading Embiid, but doing so with his contract and injury history would be nearly impossible. Medical retirement would require an extreme situation where doctors would declare that Embiid cannot play again, but sadly, it can't be ruled out. In that scenario, he'd still get his full salary, but it'd be taken off Philadelphia's books.
The best-case scenario is Embiid returning to action next season free from knee pain, but that seems like a stretch, given his history. The Sixers are stuck between a rock and a hard place and can't blame anyone but themselves.